Pants conditioner for dry cleaning and laundry plants



Aug. 23, 1955 PANTS CONDITIONER FOR DRY CLEANING AND LAUNDRY PLANTS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 27, 1952 C. M. ELROD Milimll BY TTONEK Aug. 23, 1955 c. M. ELROD 2,715,987

PANTS CONDITIDNER FOR DRY CLEANING AND LAUNDRY PLANTS Filed MaIGh 27, 1952 3 SheecS-Sneel 2 g INVENTOR. 75 f90 I /20 ec/7 Mon/'0g E/ma Ey' g' BY Arme/@ Allg 23, 1955 c. M. ELROD 2,715,987

PANTS CONDITIONER FOR DRY CLEANING AND LAUNDRY PLANTS Filed March 27, 1952 3 Sheets-Shea?. 5

United States Patent O PANTS CONDITIONER FOR DRY CLEANING AND LAUNDRY PLANTS Cecil Monroe Elrod, Carlsbad, N. Mex.

Application March 27, 1952, Serial No. 278,938

11 Claims. (Cl. 223-74) This invention has to do with the art of renovating and reconditioning of garments, particularly trousers, and has for its most important object the provision of means for stretching the same when such becomes necessary by virtue of the results of cleaning processes tending to produce wrinkles and cause shrinkage of the material from which the trousers are made.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a pants stretcher that is capable of receiving the legs and the waist of the pants, stretch the same transversely, and stretch the legs thereof longitudinally, all by means of a few simple manual operations and without necessitating handling of the garment once the same is mounted on the machine.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide a pants stretcher having a pair of spaced-apart sections interconnected as a unit, each adapted to receive one leg of the trousers and having additionally expandible means for engaging and stretching the waist of the trousers, there being means to shift the unit relative to the waist-stretching elements to exert a pull upon the trouser legs longitudinally and manually operated means for eX- erting a transverse stretching action on the trouser legs.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a pants stretcher wherein the aforesaid longitudinal stretching of the trouser legs may take place without adversely atecting the apparatus provided to impart transverse stretching action to the legs of the trousers and stretching of the waist thereof.

A further object hereof is to provide a pants stretcher having a pair of sections interconnected for vertical reciprocation as a unit, each section including a pair of members movable toward and away from each other for stretching the legs of the pants, there being a support for the unit having shiftable structure for reciprocating the latter, together with reciprocable apparatus for imparting transverse stretching to the trouser legs, together with resilient means in the system to accommodate for the tendency for additional .transverse stretching as the unit is elevated to impart longitudinal stretching to the trouser legs.

Other important objects include the way in which the two members for each leg respectively of the trousers are caused to move relatively, first at one end thereof and then at the opposite end; the way in which one of the members ofthe two sections is made up of a pair of resiliently interconnected portions; the manner of yieldably interconnecting actuating structure with pivotal linkage between the relatively movable members of each section respectively; the way in which a common manual actuating member is provided to move the members apartand to shiit the elements for stretching the waist relative to each other; and many other more minor objects, all of which will be made clear as the following specification progresses.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view showing one side of a pants conditioner for dry cleaning and laundry plants, made pursuant to the present invention showing a pair of ICC trousers thereon in a stretched condition, parts being broken away for clearness.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view showing the opposite side thereof with parts in the position for transverse stretching of trouser legs but with the trousers and protective covering entirely removed,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the pants stretcher as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the pants stretcher as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical, cross-sectional View taken on line V-V of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, detailed, cross-sectional view taken on line V-VI of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a detailed, cross-sectional View taken' on line VII-VII of Fig. 6; and

Fig..8 is a detailed, cross-sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 6.

The stretcher about to be described is capable of stretching the legs of a pair of trousers 10, both transversely and longitudinally and also stretching the waist of trousers 10. The extent of stretching is dependent in part upon the inherent resiliencies of spring means used throughout and in part upon the selection of the operator. In any event, the trousers 10 is held in a taut condition in virtually all directions while steam and/ or hot air is directed therethrough for the purpose of removing wrinkles and thereupon drying the fabric from which the garment is made.

A suitable support broadly designated by the numeral 12, framelike in nature, is provided with a housing 14 shown in Fig. 1 only of the drawings, for enclosing much of the mechanism carried by the framelike support 12. The support i2 carries a pants-receiving unit broadly designated by the numeral 16 and including two sections 18 and 29 of identical form, one for each leg of trousers 10 respectively.

The sections 18 and 20 are each provided with a pair of members, one of the members being tubular and designated by the numerals 22 and 24 respectively. The other members of the sections 18 and 20 are designated broadly by the numerals 26 and 28 respectively. Each of the members 26 and 28 is provided with a pair of portions designated by the numerals 30 and 32 respectively and 34 and 36 respectively. The portions 30 and 32 are interconnected by means of a spring 38 disposed to normally hold the portions 30 and 32 biased toward a position in end-to-end relationship. The portions 34 and 36 of the member 28, are likewise interconnected by a spring as at 38 (not shown).

Each section 18 and 20 is provided with a pair of pivotally interconnected links 40 and a second pair of pivotally interconnected links 42 for pivotally interconnecting the members 22 and 26 and the members 24 and 28. It is seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings that the links 4i) for the section 18, join with portion 32 of member 26, whereas the links 42 are connected with the portion 30 of member 26. The links 40 and 42 of the section 20 are similarly mounted.

A stabilizer bar 44 is provided for each section 18 and 2l) respectively of the unit 16, and as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, bar 44 is pivotally connected with the member 22 intermediate the ends thereof and with the portion 30 of member 26 adjacent the uppermost end thereof. The stabilizer bar 44 of section 20 pivotally interconnects the member 24 and the portion 34. Each of the members 22 and 24 is provided with a longitudinal row of perforations 46 and each of the portions 32 and 34 is arched outwardly adjacent the lowerrnost end thereof to conform with the contour of the seat of the trousers 10 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The member 26 is yieldably held biased toward the member 22 and the member 28 is'similarly held biased toward the member 24 by means of a spring 48 for each section 18 and 20 respectively.

The springs 48 are connected at one end thereof adjacent the upper end of the corresponding member 22-24 and with the portions and 34 adjacent the linkage 42. Each section 18 and 20'is additionally provided with a vpair of springs 50 and 52 interconnected by a cable 54,

i and 60 for vertical reciprocation relative thereto.

Members 22 and 24 are joined by a bridging member 62fthat is swingable relative thereto and has an elongated bar 64 welded or otherwise rigidly secured thereto. Bar 64 carries a foot pedal 66` exteriorly of the Vhousing 14 and is provided with a fulcrum link 68 intermediate the ends thereof pivotally interconnecting bar 641 and the support 12.

It is now seen that as the pedal 66 is depressed downwardly, unit 16 will be raised relative to the support 12, the latter in turn being provided with a toothed rack 70 for releasably holding the bar 64 in any one of a number of selected positions.

The cable 56 extends downwardly from its point of joinder with cables 54, passes beneath a roller 72 Aon support 12, thence upwardly over a second roller 74 on support 12 and joins with an elongated arm 76 atrone end of the latter. Arm 76 is swingably secured to the support 12 at its opposite end by means of a pivot bolt orthe like 78 and has a roller 80 intermediate its ends. An elongated bar 82 having pivotal connection as at 84 at one end thereof with the support 12, directly overlies the roller 80 and is provided with a foot pedal 86 at its opposite end. A spring 87 interconnecting a portion of support 12 and the arm 76 yieldably holds the roller 80 biased against the lowermost edge of bar 82. It is now Vseen that as pedal 86 is depressed to swing the bar 82V downwardly, the latter contacts the roller 80, thereby causing downward swinging movement of the arm 76 on the pivot bolt 78. A pulling force is imparted to the cable 56'as it rotates the rollers 72 and 74 and such pulling force isin turn transmitted to the two cablesvr54 for the sections 18 and 20 of unit 16.

Accordingly, the shiftable structure for moving the members 26 and 28 away from the members 22 and 24 respectively, against the action of the two springs 48, includes the aforesaid pedal 86, bar 82, arm 76 and cable 56. By virtue of the connection between such shiftable structure and the intercoupling means and 42 afforded through the cables 54 and the springs 50 and 52, downward movement of pedal 86 will tend to straighten the links 40 and 42 and move the members of sections 18 and 20 into transverse, stretching engagement with the legs of pants 10.

It is to be preferred that the portions 30 and 34 come into engagement with the legs of the trousers 10 at the cutfs thereof upon the initial downward movement of pedal 86V and prior to movement of the portions 32 and 36 into engagement with the4 legs and seat of trousers 10. To this end, the resiliency of the two springs 52is less than that of the springs 50, or'in lieu of such differences in resiliencies, the springs 52 may be sufciently long'to provide slack until the portions 30 and 34move intoV engagement with the legs of the trousers and until a stretchingof springs takes place.

' The bar 82 may be locked in a pre-selected position by means of a trigger 88 piv'otally secured to the bar 82 and insertable vinto any one of a number of openings- 90 on a portion of the support 12. It is now seen that once the bar 82 has been moved to a position holding the legs of the trouser 10 transverselyV taut, depressing of the pedal 466 to elevate the unit 16, will tend to stretch the trouser legs tighter in a transverse direction by virtue of the connection between unit 16 and the support 12 which includes cables 54 and 56 and springs 50 and 52. However, by virtue of the provision of these four springs V50 and 52, unit 16 may be moved upwardly even when the members 22-26 and 24-28 are in engagement with the trouser legs. Y

Such upward movement of the unit 16 is for the purpose of stretching the trousers 10 longitudinally, Vand Y accordingly, the waist of the trousers is held against upward movement and simultaneously stretched by means of a pair of substantially U-shaped elements 92 and 94 carried by the support 12. The element 92V is rigidly mounted adjacent and in partial embracing relationship with the members 22 and 24, whereas the element 94 is mounted for reciprocable movement along a rectilinear path of travel toward and away from the element 92.

A slot 96 is provided in the housing 14 to permit 'such reciprocable movement of the element 94 and the latter is provided with rollers 98 that ride along a pair of spaced tracks 100 forming a part of the support 12. VA spring 102 interconnecting a swingable link 104 and the support 12 yieldably holds the element 94 biased toward one end of its path of travel adjacent the element 92. 'Ihe link 104 is carried by the lsupport 12 and has anelongated, longitudinally extending slot 106 slidably receivinga pin 108 depending from the element 94 through slot 96 and between the tracks 100. Swinging movement is imparted to the link 104 through the medium of a short cable 110 connected at one end to the pin 108 or adjacent thereto, trained over a pulley 112 mounted on the support 12 and connected at its opposite end at the outermost free end of an elongated crank 114.

Crank 114 is rigidly secured at its opposite end to a short tube 116 at the uppermost end of the latter. 116 is rotatableon a vertical axis and is mounted on an upstanding pin 118 carried by the support 12. `A second shorter crank 120 also extending laterally from the tube 116 to which it is rigidly secured, is disposed "below the crank 114 as shown in Fig. 6, and offset relative for sliding movement thereon and is guided by means ofy an elongated rod 128 in turn slidably supported/by the support 12.

L-shaped ears 130 on the plate 124 overlie the plate 126 and a U-shaped bracket 132' on the plate 126 partially encompasses the plate 124 (see Figs. 7 and 8). The upstanding legs of the plates 124 and 126 are joined by a spring 134. The bracket 132 has a lug 136 that'receives a cable 138 which extends from the lug 136 over a sheave 140, thence beneath the roller 72 and then over roller 74 for connection with the arm 76 adjacent the point of connection of cable 56 with arm 76. Accordingly, when the pedal 86 is moved downwardly to swing the arm 76 and thereby actuate the spreaderV unit 16, element 94 is simultaneously shifted away from the element 92. This action takes place by virtue of the fact that arm 76 pulls upon the cable 138, which in turn causes ment 94 away from the element 92.

It is contemplated that the elements 92 and 94 be covered with a suitable resilient material suchy as soft rubber, thereby tending to frictionally grip the waist of the trousers and to hold the waist against upward movement relative to the elements 92 and 94. To this end these two elements are provided with an out-turned rim at the uppermost edge thereof as is clear in Figs. 2 and 4, to further prevent displacement of the trousers 10 during the longitudinal stretching that takes place by virtue of the depressing of pedal 66.

The garment 10 may be steam-treated while being held in the taut, stretched condition and therefore, steam supply lines 142 are shown in Fig. l of the drawing, which pipes 142 lead from a suitable source of steam not shown, and couple with the two standards 58 and 60 at the lowermost ends thereof as indicated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. The steam is forced upwardly through the standards 58 and 60 into the members 22 and 24 and escapes into the garment 10 by way of the openings 46 after passing through bag-like covers preferably of fabric material and designated by the numeral 144. It is understood that there is a bag 144 for each of the sections 18 and respectively of the unit 16, and each bag 144 is in turn provided with a pair of elongated, resilient strips 146 of the kind capable of frictionally engaging the trouser legs and thereby holding the same against slippage relative to the sections 18 and 20 when the longitudinal stretching action takes place through actuation of pedal 66. After the steam treatment, warm or cold air may be directed through the fabric forming the trousers 10 by means of a blower 148 having suitable means of connection with the standards 58 and 60, not shown.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the transverse tension on the trouser legs, as well as on the waist and seat of the trousers, is resilient by virtue of the four springs 50 and 52, the two springs 38 and the spring 134. The apparatus for shifting the unit 16 upwardly relative to the support 12, is biased downwardly by the inherent weight of the unit 16. The members 26 and 28 are yieldably held biased toward the members 22 and 24 by virtue of the springs 48, and therefore, the shiftable structure for actuating the linkage 40 and 42, operates in but one direction. Spring 102 holds the elements 92 and 94 biased toward each other relatively and the spring 87 maintains the arm 76 biased upwardly and accordingly, returns the bar 82 to the uppermost end of its path of travel upon release of the trigger 88.

The stabilizer bars 44 permit the aforesaid movement of the members 26 and 28 while preventing their downward collapse relative to the members 22 and 24 toward the support 12.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. In a pants stretcher, a support; a pants leg stretching section having a pair of members, intercoupled for relative movement toward and away from each other; shiftable structure interconnecting the support and the members for moving the latter relatively away from each other; means connecting the section with the support for movement of the section as a unit relative to the support; and shiftable control apparatus interconnecting the support and the section for moving the latter.

2. In a pants stretcher as set forth in claim l wherein said structure includes resilient means capable of yielding as said apparatus is shifted in one direction and n response to such shifting of the apparatus.

3. In a pants stretcher, a support; a pair of members, intercoupled for relative movement toward and away from each other; shiftable structure for moving the members relatively away from each other; means connecting the members with the support for movement of the members as a unit relative to the support; and shiftable apparatus on the support and coupled with the members for moving the members relative to the support, said structure interconnecting the members and the support Whereby shifting of said apparatus in one direction tends to move the members away from each other when said structure is held against shifting toward one end of its path of travel, said structure including means capable of yielding as t-he apparatus is shifted in said one direction and in response to such shifting of the apparatus.

4. In a pants stretcher, a support; a pants-receiving unit mounted on the support for movement relative thereto, said unit including a pair of sectionsV each having a pair of members intercoupled for relative movement toward Y and away from each other; shiftable structure interconnecting the support and said sections for moving the members; control apparatus; means mounting said apparatus for movement on the support; and means coupling said apparatus with said unit for moving the latter relative to the support upon movement of said apparatus.

5. In a pants stretcher as set forth in claim 4 wherein each section is provided with yieldable means for holding the members thereof biased toward each other.

6. In a pants stretcher, a support; a pair of members adapted to receive a leg of a pair of pants and intercoupled for relative movement toward and away from each other; shiftable structure interconnecting the support and the members for moving the latter relatively away from each other; a pair of elements adapted to receive the waist of said pair of pants and mounted on the support for relative movement toward and away from each other; shiftable mechanism interconnecting the support and one of the elements for moving the latter away from the other of said elements; movable means connecting said structure with said mechanism for shifting the latter as the structure is shifted to move the members; and means mounting the members on the support.

7. In a pants stretcher as set forth in claim 6 wherein said mechanism includes resilient means for holding a yieldable stretching bias on said waist as the elements are moved apart and engage the waist at opposed points thereon.

8. In a pants stretcher as set forth in claim 6 wherein said mechanism includes resilient means for holding a yieldable stretching bias on said waist as the elements are moved apart and engage the waist at opposed points thereon, and wherein said structure includes means for holding a stretching bias on said leg as the members are moved apart and engage the leg at opposed points thereon, said last-mentioned means being resilient, rendering the same yieldable to shifting of said apparatus in one direction.

9. In a pants stretcher, a pair of members, one of the members having a pair of portions; means intercoupling each of said portions respectively with the other member for movement of the portions toward and away from said other member; shiftable structure connected with both of said means for moving said portions away from the other member; and means forming a part of said structure for moving one of said portions away from the other member as the structure is shifted in advance of movement of the other portion away from the other member.

10. In a pants stretcher, a pair of members, one of the members having a pair of portions; means intercoupling each of said portions respectively with the other member for movement of the portions toward and away from s'aid other member; shiftable structure connected with both of said means for moving said portions away from the other member; means forming a part of said structure for moving one of said portions away from the other member as the structure is shifted in advance of movement of the other portion away from the other member; and resilient means interconnecting said portions for holding the same yieldably biased toward a predetermined position relatively.

11. In a pants stretcher, a pair of spaced, vertical standards; a tube telescoped on each standard respectively for vertical reciprocation thereon; a member for each tube respectively, each including a pair of portions interconfor reciprocating the latter.

Vshiftabl'e Vstructure connected with all of;said means for actuating the same to move the members away from the tubes; and slniftable apparatustconnected with the tubes 5 VVIrerfererx'cevs Cited in the le of Vtl1iAsrpate11t i Y UNITED'STATES PATENTS 454,666 Rand June 23, 1891 -10 8. @Hubert June 12, 1917 Ramsdell ,Feb..10, 1931 v:Boudet al, 1June 11, 1935 Harvey i Y Sept.'7,Y 1937 ,Bader et al Nov.: 28, 1950 

